The Milwaukee Brewers thought that they had it all figured out—two wins at home, a series lead in hand, and a crowd that was sure they would be headed towards the NLCS. But baseball has a way to shock everyone, and in the funnest way possible, the Brewers got humbled. The Cubs ended up clawing up, stealing that momentum, and quieting the opposition bats.

Now, as it stands, it all comes down to a winner-take-all Game 5 at the American Family Field. And honestly, forget the World Series; the pressure in this game and the stakes that are there in this Cubs and Brewers match-up are unbeatable. And at the center of it all is none other than rookie Jacob Misiorowski.

Just a few days ago, he was deemed a hero because of his heroics in Game 2. Then he delivered three scoreless innings and briefed the bullpen like he was a seasoned player. But the postseason is tough, and he is only a rookie. So now, after fastball misses and splitter slips, there are whispers about whether the 22-year-old can really handle the weight of the season all on his shoulders.

Even the Foul Territory host touched on Jacob Misiorowski, saying, “Is Miz going to show up? I don’t know. I’m not fully confident in The Miz yet. But kind of like Roki we saw in the other series—when you have elite stuff, you have a chance to be elite. So, do they need to give Miz a lead before they bring him in because maybe they’re not confident in it yet? To me, yeah. The Cubs are going to come out swinging in the first inning. They’ve scored a billion runs in the first inning.” For them, if the Brewers want to win this one, it all comes down to them playing their game, which is defense, bullpen, and the thing they have been missing this whole series—base running.

They need to steal some bases, and that can change everything. They have to put pressure on the Cubs’ defense, which doesn’t give away extra outs.  Pat Murphy, for now, is standing firm behind Jacob Misiorowski’s young arm. “We’re going to shoot for Saturday now…. He’ll probably play the same role today that he has the last couple of days.” The manager’s calm words, though, can’t discount the fact that the Brewers’ rotation is stretched, and now only a clean outing by Misiorowski can make their season.

Even offensively, the Brewers have struggled to find the answers against the Cubs’ pitching. So now they have to trust the rookie arms, the bullpen depth, and the team’s ability to rise under the pressure, and that will decide who faces LA next. And maybe a little help from the fans.

Brewers will count on home crowd magic to seal NLDS win

It all comes down to this—Game 5 between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs. The NLDS has been nothing but epic, and tonight, American Family Field will be buzzing as these division rivals battle it out for the spot in the NLCS. If there is one pattern that has held steady in the series, it is that the home teams have dominated. Milwaukee fed off the crowd in the first two games, and Chicago fans fired back with as much energy as possible at Wrigley.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell even got booed loudly in Milwaukee, but that same fire in the stands seemed to have fired up his team to get back-to-back wins. Then came Chicago’s turn, and fans chanted, “Freddy! Freddy!” At the Brewers, ace Freddy Peralta was creating a tense atmosphere that baseball fans all felt through the screen itself.

Now, both the managers have made it clear that the crowd presence matters. The energy, the noise, the emotions—everything can leave a player or even rattle them. And tonight, Milwaukee needs every bit of that hometown advantage to get through to the NLCS for the first time since 2018. Brewers manager Pat Murphy made that loud and clear. During an off-day media session, he practically begged the fans to bring with them the energy and zeal again. He reminded everyone that dropping two games on the road is not panic-worthy but just part of the playoff games.

His message for everyone is to make American Family Field impossible for the Chicago Cubs to handle. With history on the line, the stakes are higher than ever. And it’s not just about pitching and hitting anymore; it’s about the fans. If the Brewers are going to keep their postseason alive, they will need the crowd to be as electric as they were at the start of the series.